PET NEEDS – PRIMETIME ENTERTAINMENT – ALBUM REVIEW
Eighteen months ago, mid-pandemic, Colchester punks Pet Needs burst onto the scene with their debut album, ‘Fractured Party Music’. An all or nothing exercise for a band at a crossroads in their career, the album permeated into the consciousnesses of the Xtra Mile Recordings scene of bands and their hardcore fans.
The catchy pop hooks and rambunctious rock and roll energy of the album established the band their own dedicated fanbase and took them on an adventure of a lifetime touring the world.
Now the band are once again ready to unleash a smorgasbord of musical pleasure into the wild as they follow up that debut with their oh-so important sophomore record, ‘Primetime Entertainment’.
Picking up where their debut left off, the record bursts straight into life with ‘Lost Again’, ‘Ibiza In Winter’ and the anthemic ‘Get On The Roof’. Listeners are left in no doubt about the direction of the band as they hoist their punk rock mast again.
Like predecessor ‘Fractured Party Music’, ‘Primetime Entertainment’ is also produced by Frank Turner. His fingerprints are all over the album with the sonic growth of Turner’s latest effort ‘FTHC’ also present on this album.
‘Spirals’ is an incredible rip-roaring track which pushes everything the band offers to the extreme. Given the energy and passion of Pet Needs live, ‘Spirals’, is surely destined to be a highlight of their upcoming tour.
Thematically speaking, ‘Primetime Entertainment’, is Pet Needs at their honest and reflective best. There’s plenty of the tongue in cheek lyrics which made ‘Fractured Party Music’, such a fun record, but there’s perhaps a greater sense of seriousness this time around.
When the world is in a bad way, and you just want to lose yourself in some loud guitars and singable songs; don’t fear Pet Needs are here again to service your needs with another liberating release of energy!
Voodoo Daddy’s is tucked away in the side streets of Norwich’s city centre. Inside you are greeted with a cool pizza bar downstairs and an intimate music venue upstairs which is the scene for the show tonight.
Only announced recently, this show is part of a small run of dates headlined by PET NEEDS under the banner of the Nick Alexander Memorial Trust (NAMT). If you are not familiar with NAMT then you really should be, as the charity does incredible work helping disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of society access to music.
Opening the evenings proceedings is a short solo Morning Crush set, which captivates the early attendees and finishes with a poignant new song. Shortly thereafter (Paul) Henshaw graces the stage and serenades us with a selection of rousing acoustic numbers. A fine start to what promises to be a great night.
Things get turned up a notch soon after as the hard rocking Ghosts of Men storm the stage. Despite some good old fashioned technical difficulties, the duo still produces an entertaining performance, raising the noise levels in preparedness for our headliners.
PET NEEDS
Those headliners, as mentioned, are Colchester group PET NEEDS. Fresh from signing with Xtra Mile Recordings the band has graced many a stage with labelmates such as Frank Turner, Beans On Toast and Skinny Lister.
They’ve been honing their craft and nights like this will help forge their cohesiveness and delivery. It may not be the biggest show, but the bands appetite is ravenous for a rock show.
Tracks like ‘Kayak’ and ‘Pavlovian’ instantly build the audience engagement and the sing-a-longs continue throughout their set with ‘Punk Isn’t Dead (It’s Just Up For Sale)’, ‘Toothpaste’ and ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’ all highlights.
It’s a short, sharp set from a band with huge potential and the encore of ‘Overcompensating’ sends attendees off into the Norwich night delighted with what they’ve just been a part of.
That is the independent small venue scene, the DIY punk scene, the support fantastic causes scene, the just supporting new, exiting music scene. As we emerge from the pandemic, get yourselves back to these venues, find the acts of the future and support real music!
2021 has been another tough year to live through. There have been some signs of normal life, for example the return of live music, but we end it as we started with true normality a distant memory.
This year has however been a stunning year for new music releases. Yes, lockdown musicians and the odds are their creativity will take over. In Full Pelt Music’s first full year of existence we have reviewed 65 albums and the quality of those releases has been exceptional.
Last year we counted down our Top 20 albums of the year, with a special Advent Calendar countdown on our Twitter. This year we have expanded! Our 2021 countdown has taken place across all our social platforms, and has listed our Top 50 albums of the year!
With that social media countdown completed, it’s now time to compile our completed Top 50 in one place. So let’s get started!
What we said:
“there are stunning moments spread throughout the album”
Rob Zombie – ‘The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)’
What we said:
“was anybody craving a new album from The Offspring in 2021? Perhaps not, but actually in this messed up world we live in, maybe, just maybe, we needed it!”
“vitality shouldn’t be mistaken for relevance and whilst the band may have peaked commercially, they remain of utmost importance to a generation of music fans”
Check out:
Rise Against – ‘Nowhere Generation’
What we said:
“anybody that had any doubts about the natural talents of this group of musicians, they should now acknowledge a new force”
The quality of this year’s releases has been truly phenomenal as our opening 30 albums attests. The competition is extremely tight for the coveted top spot and that is clear throughout the prestigious Top 20 that follows.
What we said:
“a sublime collection of upbeat, heartfelt and powerful songs that is bound to be stuck on repeat for the foreseeable future”
“a rare talent that have now reinforced their passion and ability to create great music for anybody who wants to listen but without concession on their vision”
Well there you have it! What a truly magnificent year for new music 2021 has been. What will 2022 have in store? Remember to discover the best new acts by following our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist’!
Stay tuned for our 2021 Year in Review coming very soon.
Few musicians command such a passionate and dedicated fanbase as Frank Turner does. Since 2017, he has held an annual pilgrimage known as Lost Evenings. 4 days of activities based on the man himself punctuated by 4 headline sets each offering something different.
Last years event in Berlin was cancelled for obvious reasons and with the world not out of the woods yet Turner has chosen to return to the spiritual home of the event, Camden.
Whilst the main event takes place at the legendary Roundhouse, the festival takes over most of Camden. There are multiple stages of music, pop up gigs, panels, tattoos and much more.
THURSDAY
So let’s start unpacking the events of Lost Evenings 4! The event commenced on Thursday for the solo show of the weekend. No Sleeping Souls (well, just one – Matt Nasir on mandolin), as Turner explores some of the hidden gems of his back catalogue.
There are two fantastic support slots on the main stage from Emily Barker and Grace Petrie. Two incredible musicians who both manage to grab the audience with both hands, each joining the other during their sets as they encapsulate the spirit of the event.
Throughout the weekend Beans on Toast acts as master of ceremonies introducing each act. Next he welcomes Turner for the first of four occasions!
Turner and Nasir proceed to serenade the partisan audience who relish the opportunity to hear a few lesser played numbers. Turner states that he will endeavour to repeat only a few songs over the weekend.
Thursday highlights include new single ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’, the emotional ‘A Wave Across A Bay’, rarer numbers ‘Losing Days’, ‘Substitute’, ‘Tattoos’, ‘Josephine’ and special sing-a-long cover ‘Somebody To Love’ with Turner joined by Petrie and Barker. All in all a great way to start the festival.
FRIDAY
Friday sees Turner joined by his band The Sleeping Souls for a set billed as “the first three albums plus new songs”.
As far as support goes we start with the new – PET NEEDS. The young band from Colchester showcase tracks from their brilliant debut album including ‘Toothpaste’, ‘Pavlovian’ and ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’, which receive big reactions from the crowd.
Next up it’s something old with longtime Turner contemporary Jamie Lenman joining the party. Given the theme of the evening you’d assume those in attendance would be aware of Turners hardcore past, but there are more than a few deer in headlights reactions to Lenman’s hard and heavy outing. It is however an excellent performance that ensures any first night hangovers are blown away.
It’s then Turner time again and tonight we get a carefully curated set of early favourites. Fans again get some rarer tracks from the vault including ‘Live Fast Die Old’, ‘Once We Were Anarchists’, ‘Back In The Day’, ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the One of Me’, ‘To Take You Home’, ‘Nashville Tennessee’, ‘Imperfect Tense’ and ‘Sons of Liberty’.
There is also a special section where fans get to hear three new songs from upcoming album ‘FTHC’ in the shape of ‘Non Serviam’, ‘Punches’ and ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’ again.
The night is rounded off by ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, ‘Father’s Day’, ‘St. Christopher Is Coming Home’ and ‘Photosynthesis’ sending the crowd home happy.
SATURDAY
Saturday now and we first head to the Lock Tavern for an Xtra Mile Recordings takeover with special acoustic sets from PET NEEDS, BERRIES and Johnny Lloyd.
Both BERRIES and PET NEEDS play delightful sets to a packed room which go down very well. Sadly it is then announced that Johnny Lloyd is unable to make it. Thankfully master of ceremonies Beans On Toast is on hand to play an impromptu set.
As expected Beans On Toast has the audience in the palm of his hand as he regales them with tales and songs relating to Camden. A lovely afternoon that represents all that is great about Lost Evenings.
It’s very quickly time to head to the Roundhouse for round number three, which on Saturday sees Turner play his seminal album ‘England Keep My Bones’ in full.
Watch Frank Turner on Episode 1 of the Full Pelt Music Podcast!
Before we get there we have two more fantastic support acts. First up this evening is the highly entertaining The Lottery Winners. With their catchy songs and endearing onstage banter, the group are a delightful opening act.
Next the incredible Nova Twins take to the stage and initially elicit somewhat of the same response as Lenman the day before. However by the end of their set they have captured the imagination of the whole crowd. Nova Twins future is bright and on the evidence of tonight it shouldn’t be long before they are headlining venues this size.
The next may well be the most hotly anticipated performance of the entire weekend. The main man playing, in full, an album that catapulted his career and won a legion of fans. Those in attendance know that this will be special…
..And special it is! Not just said album in full but all accompanying b-sides and associated tracks. From the moment Turner takes to the stage and opens with ‘Sailors Boots’ the energy in the room of immense. This is only amplified when playing the likes of ‘I Am Disappeared’, ‘One Foot Before the Other’, ‘Peggy Sang The Blues’, ‘Redemption’ and ‘I Still Believe’.
Joined at times by string and horn sections the finale sees everything come together with ‘Eulogy’, ‘If Ever I Stray’ and ‘Glory Hallelujah’ delivering a memorable and worthy finale to the evening.
SUNDAY
The final day of the festival is billed as the greatest hits day. Turner who has kept to his promise to limit repeats, has held back some of his most loved songs. But first, Guise! Fronted by Jess Guise, the band do a great job warming up the crowd. They may be on home turf with Guise married to Turner, but it’s their music that earns the fans adoration come the end of their set.
Our last support act of the weekend is another band Turner fans are familiar with. Skinny Lister are possibly the perfect band to raise any tired spirits after a busy weekend. They bring the party, get the crowd moving and ensure the stage is set for Turner to close out the event in style
Tonight’s mission statement is clear from Turner – send the fans home happy. ‘Get Better’, ‘1933’ and ‘Little Changes’ kick off a set full of fan favourites.
In a well structured set list Turner includes some lesser played favourites such as ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’ and ‘Glorious You’. From start to finish he has the audience in the palm of his hand.
The encore of ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’, ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘Recovery’ and ‘Four Simple Words’ provides just the ending required to what has been another incredible weekend.
As we said at the start, not many artists could create and sell out a weekend like Lost Evenings, but Turner has built something very special and Lost Evenings 5 is surely in the pipeline already!
Pet Needs hail from the ancient town of Colchester, and their debut album features the ancient sound of punk rock. Let’s face it, we all have plenty to be angry about right now and the band capture that angst perfectly on ‘Fractured Party Music’.
But whilst the mood of the nation’s youth is represented in the musical and lyrical content, don’t assume this album is just another angry, shouty record. There is plenty of depth on this album taken from a wide range of influences.
One thing that raises this album above its contemporaries is its knack for catchy pop driven choruses that wouldn’t feel out of place on a mid-noughties indie anthem. With that said there is much more substance on this album than you’d expect from those indie by numbers hit makers.
That is what’s great about this record. Whilst it’s unashamedly brash punk rock at its heart, it journeys through many terrains to reach its peak. If we look simply at Pet Needs Xtra Mile Recordings labelmates, you get elements of Mongol Horde, Skinny Lister and Sean McGowan on this album.
This is anything but one-dimensional but it flows sweetly from the opening track ‘Outline’ to its finale ‘Embers’. ‘Fractured Party Music’ feels like a statement of intent from a group that has masses of potential.
Pet Needs – ‘Pavlovian’
With singles like ‘Tracy Emin’s Bed’, ‘Toothpaste’ and ‘Pavlovian’ bursting out of the album, it won’t take long for people to stop and take notice of this great young band. ‘Fractured Party Music’ promises to be just the start for Pet Needs.
A necessary but shocking side-effect of the first lockdown and beyond is the impact on the live music industry. An industry that revolves around bringing people together in confined spaces to celebrate life and art. Music and particularly live music is vital to the mental health and wellbeing of millions of people, and the loss of that medication has added to the already scary situation we have all found ourselves in.
When the world ground to a screeching halt in March 2020, the primary concern for all of civilisation was rightly to fight the devastating coronavirus and to protect against loss of life. Alternatively as the government put it – “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”.
The music industry and the incredibly talented people that make up the sector is by its very nature creative and innovative. As we all searched for new ways to connect with our loved ones and our passions, musicians had the answer. Welcome to the world the music livestream!
One man seemingly ahead of the curve on this front was Frank Turner. Turner is known to be “always on tour” as it were, and was in fact mid-tour as the pandemic hit. Turner was quick to hastily ready a special livestream event from his own home raising money for his touring family.
At the same time, the reality was dawning on the live music ecosystem of the potentially fatal impact caused by the pandemic countermeasures. In particular the Music Venue Trust, who do amazing work year round even in non-pandemic times, were busy mobilising. The MVT were well positioned to see the threat to the grassroots music venues of the country.
We have gone into depth on the subject in our blog – ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, but ultimately the venues that foster and cultivate the entire music industry were in trouble. Sadly many face the threat of closure due to non-pandemic related issues. The events of March 2020 onwards however threatened these venues, the lifeblood of live music, to the point of extinction.
The perfect storm called for urgent action and one man taking notice and standing tall was that man Frank Turner. Soon we were all introduced to a new concept from Turner, Independent Venue Love. A series of livestream concerts taking place every Thursday during lockdown to raise desperately needed funds for at risk music venues.
A different venue would be supported each week and each week would see a unique set list. In creating this series Turner raised much needed awareness and financial support for venues. By doing so he helped to safeguard the future of live music; perhaps most importantly though, Turner also provided an escape from the terrifying realities of pandemic life. The Independent Venue Love series will have played a powerfully positive role in raising spirits and safeguarding mental health for music fans desperate for a distraction.
In our first ever End of Year Awards, we picked Turner as our ‘Artist of the Year’. You can read what we wrote about this decision in our ‘2020 Year in Review’. Basically we feel Turner deserves a medal for his efforts in arranging and performing these fantastic events. Turner has raised a phenomenal amount of money and has helped countless people through horrifying times either directly or indirectly.
That is why we thought it would be fitting to celebrate and remember the Independent Venue Love series here. You can peruse the posters for each event in the gallery below.
Independent Venue Love Posters
Now let’s get started in documenting the series.
Early Facebook Days
As we all adapted to pandemic life, we strived for the best communications technology. Many discovered the wonders of Zoom meetings for example. When debuting the IVL series, Turner took to Facebook Live. A learning experience for all, some early streams were impacted by connectively issues and eventually led to a change of internet provider for Turner and a move to Youtube.
The first five events featured on Facebook Live (and a dabble on Instagram!) saw Turner begin a career retrospective; with each week featuring another release in chronological order.
Vol.1 – ‘Sleep is for the Week’ for Nambucca, London
From Volume 6 onwards Turner would move the weekly series across to Youtube with better connectivity results. Turner would continue to progress through his career retrospective to the delight of his fans. A drinking game would also emerge for fans at home based initially on apologies to either his wife Jess or his mother.
As Turner’s gameplan to play his back catalogue continued, fans were treated to rare song outings. These outings occasionally would see the odd forgotten lyric, and the terming of the phrase to Varley in ode to fellow musician Will Varley. Eventually each Varley would be incorporated into the drinking game!
Vol. 6 – ‘Rarities and B-Sides 2011-2014’ for The Parish, Huddersfield
With his released back catalogue now exhausted and lockdown one (known back then, simply as lockdown!) still persisting, Turner needed to explore different avenues for set list material. A demand for a ‘Disney Set’ initially failed to materialise until a special shortened bonus set one night.
Turner however would push on with additional themes to continue his herculean effort (Joe Wicks eat your heart out!). Volume 13 would also take place from inside the venue Turner was raising funds for as signs of normality began to appear. Volume 14 would be titled ‘The Final Stream’… little did we know what the future had in store.
No we are not doing Whitesnake Karaoke! A brief return to real life saw some socially distanced music possible. Turner in fact was able to play numerous shows including our ‘Gig of the Year’ as awarded in our ‘2020 Year in Review’.
Sadly the pandemic took a horrific turn for the worst. With venues still at risk and people desperate for escape, Turner and IVL would make their triumphant return in January (otherwise known as Lockdown three!). This time around Turner’s wife, Guise, would move to an important mediator role as fans got to pick the setlist!
We all hope and pray that a return to normality is on the horizon. That the incredible work of scientists and our key workers will save lives and allow life to resume. Volume 21 closes the IVL series with a request set from Jess Guise herself.
Turner has achieved amazing results from the IVL series. The fact is that he didn’t have to do this, and for that he deserves recognition.
The Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and all organisations and groups working to protect our culture deserve special praise also.
Sadly the end of the pandemic and the return to relative normality won’t remove the threat posed to our grassroots music venues. Please when safe to do so, support these venues, support your favourite bands, support new bands, support music!
